The Clarence Tunnel is a
railway tunnel that was originally part of the
Main Western railway line across the
Blue Mountains,
New South Wales
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, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
, Australia. It is long.
History and description
The tunnel, located to the west of
Clarence, was built by William Watkins and opened on 18 October 1869. The tunnel is almost entirely straight apart from a curve at the Clarence end and is the highest railway tunnel in Australia. The tunnel was closed on 16 October 1910, after being by-passed by a
new deviation. After the tunnel's closure, it was utilised for growing mushrooms. In 1944, during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the
Royal Australian Air Force
"Through Adversity to the Stars"
, colours =
, colours_label =
, march =
, mascot =
, anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...
(RAAF) stockpiled
chemical munitions
A chemical weapon (CW) is a specialized Ammunition, munition that uses chemicals chemical engineering, formulated to inflict death or harm on humans. According to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), this can be an ...
in the tunnel. The facility was known as ''No. 4 Sub Depot'' of ''No. 1 Central Reserve RAAF'' and was vacated by the RAAF in 1946.
The tunnel was reopened in 1975 and forms part of the
Zig Zag tourist railway.
Zig Zag Railway
/ref>
References
{{Blue Mountains topics
Railway tunnels in New South Wales
Buildings and structures in the Blue Mountains (New South Wales)
Tunnels completed in 1869
1869 establishments in Australia
Main Western railway line, New South Wales